“Acts 17:22-34”

Sunday, January 31, 2016

“So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, ‘Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘”TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.” Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, “For we also are His children.” Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.’ Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, ‘We shall hear you again concerning this.’ So Paul went out of their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.”

---End of Scripture verses---

Just a few observations about Paul’s famous sermon on Mars Hill, also known as the Aeropagus.

Paul started his sermon with “the altar of the unknown God” (verse 23). The Athenians were so religious (or superstitious) that they wouldn’t risk not worshiping a god that might exist without their awareness. In the rest of that verse Paul said, “What you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.” He used wordplay to tell them about the unknown God that they worshipped unknowingly. Many people today endeavor to worship God without really knowing who He is and what He expects from them? There is really only one way to come to a proper knowledge of God’s nature, His character, His ways and His demands. He reveals himself to us thoroughly through the pages of the Bible, and through the life of His Only Begotten Son, Jesus, whom we read about in the New Testament. Without spending considerable time in the word we will never truly come to know the great God of heaven. How important to your salvation do you think it is to truly know God? 2 Thessalonians 1:6-8 answers that question for us. “For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.”

Have you ever asked the age-old question—“What is the meaning of life?” Paul gives us the answer to that “mystery” in verses 26-27. “And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.” God put us here on earth to find Him and to serve Him. That’s the true meaning of life. That is why we are here. Millions of people live their lives completely ignoring their Creator and treating Him as if He doesn’t exist by dismissing His desires for them. And still millions more, for various reasons, feel the void left in them by the absence of God in their lives, and even grope after Him, but never really find Him or come to truly know Him. Once again, God can be found right in the pages of the Bible that He left preserved for us. Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14—“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.” Life is all about God. Without Him life has very little meaning, and it will end very poorly. We need to learn His commandments and keep them if we want to please Him and fulfill our life’s purpose. This is Jehovah’s world. He made it. He owns it. And He made and owns our lives as well. We will all stand before Him in Judgment to give an answer for what we did with the lives that He gave us.

Verses 30-31 – “God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness…” Please give your life an honest examination. What are you doing or neglecting to do that you need to repent of? What sin do you need to turn away from, and what aspect of righteousness do you need to turn toward? Friend, please make the necessary changes before your life on earth has ended and it is too late to turn. We all have been given one life to live. Please choose wisely. Please choose to learn about and know and love and obey the One who gave you life and who you will give an account to. He has many great and precious promises for you if you will only seek after Him. He is not far from you. You can learn all about Him in your Bible and you can talk to Him in prayer.

Please read Acts 18:1-11 for tomorrow.

Have a blessed day!

-Louie Taylor

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